Siguemchi-Namul Korean Wilted Spinach Salad
I love a quick, easy, and satiating breakfast. Siguem Namul is a popular Korean side dish (banchan) served alongside of Korean BBQ, noodles, and breakfast. I'm on the go a lot and I need to make sure to eat a healthy breakfast to start my day. I'll eat cereal if need be, but I prefer to have rice and eggs. To me its satisfying and sets the tone of day for me. My default breakfast is this little Korean side dish that i spruce up with a scrambled egg and rice. I usually make it on Sunday nights and eat it for breakfast throughout the week. To make my salad a little spicier, I top my salad with finely sliced chilis because... I have an addiction to spicy food.
They key to this dish is to get the spinach really clean. The next is to blanch it quickly and shock in ice water to keep it green. And finally, wring out as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. more the water is wrung out the better the seasonings and oil will adhere. You'll find yourself making this dish over and over again. Get your greens in!
Siguemchi Namul
Ingredients
16 ounces spinach, cleaned and washed
2 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
silgochu or in my case freshly sliced chilis, optional
Directions
Boil water in a large pot, 2-3 quarts
Blanch the spinach for 1 minute with lid off, stir with wooden spoon to make sure that the boiling water hits all of the leaves
Strain the spinach and immediate put into bowl with enough ice water to cover
Squeeze out excess water and removed excess ice cubes
Season with soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds and mix by hand to coat.